More and more, pregnancy help centers are starting up, or looking to start up maternity homes as part of their ministry.
There are approximately 400 maternity homes in the U.S., offering help, hope and housing for moms in need. And there are more than 2,700 U.S. pregnancy help centers, some of which are looking to expand their services for women and families to include maternity housing.
“Whenever I talk to people from pregnancy care centers, they are wanting to move toward more holistic care with a focus on the mother first,” said Valerie Humes, director of the National Maternity Housing Coalition and housing specialist for Heartbeat International.
“I see an ongoing move toward reaching beyond the current standard of services to include immediate housing only during pregnancy,” Humes said, “and an opportunity for long-term discipleship lasting through the first one to two years of her child's life.”
Humes cited developing research focusing on this.
“We are facilitating a study of the impact of maternity homes through Notre Dame University’s Lab for Economic Opportunity,” she said. “Then we will be able to determine the impact of long-term residential care for women who choose to fulfill their pregnancies.”
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Beacon of Light Pregnancy Support Center (BLPSC) is one example where a combination of pregnancy help center and a maternity home has worked.
BLPSC has been serving Newburgh, NY, and the surrounding area with locations in Middletown and New Windsor for 17 years. In 2019 the MyChoice Pregnancy Care Center and Faith House Maternity Home joined together to form the Maternity Home of Hudson Valley under the umbrella of BLPSC.
Pastor Helen Davis is the executive director of the Maternity Home of Hudson Valley.
Davis described the merging of the pregnancy center with the maternity home as a “Collaboration as well as to be a resource for one another.”
In Davis’ estimation providing a maternity home breaks the limitations of what can be done to help a woman in crisis.
She recalled a few client interactions that demonstrated the potential of this.
“Two of them came into the clinic and said they were considering abortion because they had no one else to go to,” Davis said.
“There is a limit the pregnancy center can go to help them,” Davis said, “this helps her to know there are those who can care for them, help with finances, to take you to the next level. To be able to ask, ‘Would you consider not aborting your baby if I can connect you to a home where you will be cared for and loved and give you time to plan so that you can care for your baby?’”
There are five staff members and a group of ten volunteers serving at the maternity home.
Amy Mathieu, executive director of Beacon of Light, said the partnership is hands-on for BLPSC.
“It is more than partnering it is us (the pregnancy center) just deciding to take over the fundraising and effort to start a maternity home,” she said, “we wanted to get involved in helping them open.”
“We got it up and running—it was a whirlwind and right before COVID, said Mathieu.
“Also, it is a tough environment to be pro-life in NY,” she said, “but we are trusting the Lord in what He is doing in NY through our government and elected officials and the things they are trying to do.”
“Partnering and opening the house legitimized our vision of pro-life work,” said Mathieu. “Supporting women in the choice for life. Opening a home and walking with these women through their decision for life.”
“Our first mom had her baby January 2021,” Mathieu noted.
“We have our mothers stay during their pregnancy and up to one year after birth,” stated Davis. “We have the opportunity to disciple, minister, and help her develop in terms of her skills, connect her to resources in the region and move toward sustainability.”
“We conduct Bible studies with them,” she said, “and our volunteers teach skills to the moms such as cooking, developing a resume, dressing for and being interviewed for a job.”
The aim is for moms to be self-sufficient, Davis said.
“We have people who have worked in different sectors and have retired and come with their skills and share them with the mothers,” she said. “Our goal is with every mother, from day one, we begin to look at her exit plan working to be self-sustainable.”
Moms are put in touch with resources to get them on their feet.
“We connect her with resources such as SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program), WIC, housing, education, employment and financial literacy,” she said. “We help her develop a bank account, if she doesn’t already have one and utilize the resources, they get through public entities to prepare themselves so when they leave, they can take care of themselves.”
A case manager meets weekly with each mom to track their progress and continue to focus on the goal of self-sustainability. They also assess and work toward mental wellness.
Postpartum depression and other issues are addressed on an individual basis, helping moms to understand what they can do and what resources are available to help support them through these moments and times.
While the pregnancy centers see a high volume of abortion-vulnerable clients, the setting of the maternity home is rural, located in Walden, NY, in a more country setting and well connected with local churches.
The moms are invited regularly to church events and services every Sunday. Volunteers invite them to their churches so they can try them out and make a decision about which church they want to attend for the time they are with the maternity home.
“The moms go shopping with our volunteers to learn skills of planning menus,” Davis said. “They teach them to cook—they are on their own for breakfast and lunch—dinner is a communal effort where the meal is prepared together. Staff and moms come together for dinner which gives a great opportunity for open discussion.”
Davis also described the time of prayer each morning at 9 a.m.
“All come together in the meeting room before breakfast,” she said. “Our house parent is doing a women’s Bible study with them.”
The house has room for five moms and their babies, and currently it is home to three moms and their babies. The women are in varying stages of employment and education.
“One works, she has two part time jobs,” Davis said. “One is graduating with a degree in social work. She did this online earning a BS in social work and now is moving on to a master’s program. One worked for the U.S. post office and plans to go back. She is seeking childcare.”
Davis spoke about the role of the house parent.
“It takes a specific anointing to do it,” she said. “It is not enough room for a family to live there, so the house parent is a single individual. She has an excellent relationship with the ladies.”
They are looking to increase the staff and split the house parent role, she added, with respite aids to provide relief to the house parent. An administrative assistant handles finances.
“As executive director, like all the staff, I also work out of the house,” Davis said. “So, we are all there together. We have excellent external support from the pregnancy center from their nurses and staff doing trainings and workshops with our moms.”
Davis, who is a pastor, was in early childhood education for 14 years prior to becoming a senior director of Early Head Start and day care in New York City.
They had 60 families in her center with lots of interactions with impoverished mothers and their children through the program. She had retired in 2019 and the Lord spoke to her heart and called her to this ministry opportunity.
Davis became the founder and director of the pro-life ministry Divinely Beautiful which is dedicated to training and building men and women in the church to be a support to abortion vulnerable men and women.
“We need to reach our church leaders that this is our responsibility caring for these mothers and these babies,” Davis said.
Looking to the future Davis stated, “We hold discussion in terms of next steps—more maternity homes to provide more services. Our one maternity home doesn’t have the capacity to serve all who come.”
“There is also a great need for childcare, daycare services to enable the mothers to leave the babies in a safe environment,” she said. “Churches that have the ability to set up childcare at their facilities.”
“Very often the fathers are also afraid and need support,” she added. “We need to be able to have family homes. Ultimately to be able to provide that kind of housing as well. Guiding them toward marriage.”
For more information on starting a maternity housing ministry email
